Adidas UltraBOOST X Review

Disclaimer: I received a sample of the adidas UltraBOOST X shoes to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!

Dear readers,

My name is Jen and I have a running shoe problem.

I love running shoes. Like, I LOVE, love them. I love trying out different shoes and learning all about the research and technology that goes into making a running shoes. I love all the technical data surrounding running shoes. I’m lucky in that I have a very neutral stride. I don’t over pronate or supinate. This allows me to try out all kinds of neutral running shoes without too much issue. I can switch shoes easily so long as they fit well.

A couple friends of mine had recently switched to the adidas running shoes and were raving about them. One of the ladies in my running group swears by them and trained for her first marathon in a pair of the UltraBOOST. So, needless to say, I was jumping for joy when I got the chance to test out the new adidas UltraBOOST X

One of the first things you notice about these shoes is the super cool colors. I fell in love with the “glow orange/core black” color. I mean, they just LOOK cool. I felt like my coolness factor shot up 100 points as soon as I put them on.

The second thing I noticed was how lightweight they were. They weigh about 8.3 oz. – lighter than the 9.0 oz some of my other shoes weigh. They are deceivingly much lighter than they appear. The adidas Primeknit upper and ultra lightweight boost cushioning help keep the ounces down.

I have a very narrow foot so I do need a shoe that isn’t too wide or else I feel like my foot is just flopping around in the shoe. The adidas Primeknit upper is almost like putting on a sock. It’s super stretchy and lightweight. It essentially hugs your foot when you put it on. There’s no tongue, no nasty seams to rub blisters, and no stiff back behind your heel. It’s all one big, stretchy foot hug.

One of the coolest things about this shoe is the adaptive arch. It’s hard to tell from my pictures but there is a sizable gap between the boost cushioning sole and the adidas Primeknit upper. The arch is designed to adapt to your foot to give you a better run. I could feel the arch support between the adidas Primeknit and laces hugging my foot.

The shoes are also outfitted with the boost cushioning. This cushioning is supposed to be responsive, meaning the more effort and energy you put in, the more it will give right back.

I definitely noticed that they were a little stiffer in the soles than some of my other running shoes. This took a little getting used to for me. After about 3 shorter distance runs in them I really, really started to like them and get used to them. The heel to toe drop was a little more than a lot of my other running shoes at 10 mm. I could feel the drop difference and stiffer sole definitely in the bottom of my feet after a longer run. On the shorter distance runs (3, 4 and 5 milers) I had zero issues. I would just have to ease into the longer distances in these shoes. I personally LOVED them for my short runs.

I loved how easy they were to get on and off with that stretchy, super comfy adidas Primeknit upper. No rubbing seams on my toes was a big, BIG plus in my book. My toes tend to curl up and I wear out the top of my shoes a lot. I can see these lasting longer since they were so stretchy and adaptive to the way my foot fit in them.

Finding the right socks to go with them was a little trial and error too. They are low profile and to me, ankle socks just looked weird. I also felt that my normal, slightly padded socks just didn’t feel right in the shoe. They were almost too much sock for this shoe. I had to switch to a much thinner, lower profile sock and I was happy.

I’m really loving these shoes for all my shorter runs right now. I’m slowly breaking them in on some mid-distance runs (8ish + miles) and hope to work them up to a half marathon distance soon. In fact, I wore them to a recent 5k this weekend and took home 1st place in my age division!! They are absolutely some of the most responsive shoes I’ve ever worn. I really liked them and will definitely consider purchasing another pair once these wear out. They are a definite addition to the shoe rotation.